Being new to the bonsai art and this forum, I find using the "Search" function on this forum to be extremely helpful! Additionally, Tomlinson has a pretty good book, the Stone Lantern series on Pines and Junipers are very good. The Naka series is very informative as well.

Afraid you'd type that. Deborah Koreshoff's book is pretty solid. Most "beginner" books are not very good. As you mentioned, joining a club and engratiation with seasoned members is best. Also finding a good teacher. This site has more good threads worth of info than a book; it's free. Also, other forums have different things to offer as do good bonsai blogs (like Mike Hagedorn's, Peter Tea's, etc) and YouTube channels. Back issues of Bonsai Today and BCI have great info too. Most books aren't worth it.

Afraid you'd type that. Deborah Koreshoff's book is pretty solid. Most "beginner" books are not very good. As you mentioned, joining a club and engratiation with seasoned members is best. Also finding a good teacher. This site has more good threads worth of info than a book; it's free. Also, other forums have different things to offer as do good bonsai blogs (like Mike Hagedorn's, Peter Tea's, etc) and YouTube channels. Back issues of Bonsai Today and BCI have great info too. Most books aren't worth it.

I agree with this very much. Type in Bjorn Bonsai in youtube and watch all the Art of Bonsai videos. Check out Mike Hagedorn, Peter Tea, Bonsai Unearthed, Bjorn Bonsai, Bonsai tonight blogs. There is a great new DVD called "Bonsai 101" that is worth the money. Boons DVD's are great in general and there are others on specific topics such as repotting, decandling or working with specific types of trees, I feel these are a better option than books. The only real books I still have are Kokufu show books-the #1 Bonsai show in Japan. They are basically just picture books which you can learn alot from.

I've noticed that many of the beginner books are filled with lots of the same information including the exact same demos and example trees. This forum has been a good place for me to ask questions. There are also some really good videos on youtube that are instructive or just show a nice diversity of trees and styles.

Bonsai Today I love the wide range of subject matter and the illustrations help in visualizing the application. Most of the hard cover books I've seen are not really very informative. Of course this Forum has been invaluable.